Machinery for hardening hat-bodies



UITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. COVVPERTHYVAI'I?, OF DANBURY, 'CONNECTICUT MACHINERY FOR HARDENING HAT-BODIES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,007, dated lVIay 17, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. CowPnR- THwArr, of Danbury, in the county of Fairiield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Hardening Hat-Bodies; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention7 reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of one of my improved hardening machines, F ig. 2 represents a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section of the same at the line m of Fig. 2.

I-Iat bodies formed by collecting bers of fur and similar substances upon formers require to be hardened before they are removed from the former, and various machines have been devised for eecting the hardening by imparting a tremulous movement to the hat body while it is subjected to pressure between two surfaces, which are usually the former on which the hat body is made and a cover superimposed over the hat body. In several of these machines the tremulous movement lhas been effected by placing the covered hat body in a conical cradle to which a rapid tremulous movement is imparted, and my invention has referenceparticularly to this class of hardening machines. In all machines of this class with which I am acquainted the cradle `is arranged in an upright position, and the cradle is either of just the proper size to admit the covered hat body, or if larger is padded so that the covered hat body is properly supported at all sides; hence the cradle of the machine requires adjustment in its dimensions to fit it to the hardening of hat bodies of different dimensions. These machines also are objectionable for the reason that the hat body being upright, is subjected to the direct downward pressure of the entire weight of the forming cone which is within it, and the pressure of this weight hardening upon the loose hat body endangers the rupture of the tip from the brim in the operation of hardening when the brim is thick in proportion to the tip; when on the other hand the brim is thin, the upper part of the body is worked downward by the pressure of this weight and wrinkles are formed in it which tend to produce thick spots in the subsequent process of sizing unless the greatest care is exercised on the part of the workman.

The object of my invention is to enable the same cradle to be used without adapting its interior dimensions to those of the hat body, and to enable the pressure of the interior former to be graduated as may be found best in practice, and it consists mainly in a vibrating cradle set in an inclined position, so that the hat body with its covers lies upon its side and at an angle whose greater or less variation from a vertical line may if desired be varied so as to cause more or less of the weight of the hat former to bear upon the interior of the hat body during hardening.

` The cradle A of the hardening machine represented in the accompanying drawings is of conical form, and is composed of staves or bars secured at their lower extremities in a bottom b and connected at their upper extremities by a curb or rim d. The bottom of the cradle is fitted with a pin z', which projects from its lower face, and is stepped in an adjustable slide c which is supported-in"5`0\A a base block D. The rim of the cradleis connected at one side with a frame E by means of a shackle bar m, and it is connected at the opposite side with the crank pin s of a rapidly revolving shaft F by means of a connecting rod a) The length of the connecting rod and shackle bar are such that the cradle is supported in an inclined posi- .tion as represented in the'drawings. The

slide in which the pin at the bottom of the cradle is stepped is adjustable so as to vary the position of the bottom of the cradle Mw thus vary its inclination. The shackle bar and connecting rod have a series of holes in their ends to which the bolts that connect them with the rim of the cradle can be shifted for the same purpose. The crank pin s instead of being secured permanently in one position to its shaft F, should be secured in a slide t that can be adjusted in a hub 1- secured to the shaft, so that it may be adjusted to give a greater or less vibration to the cradle. The lowermost staves of the cradle should be slightly padded and covered with some smooth material, enameled cloth for example, so that the metal of the cover containing the hat body may not come in direct contact with the wood of the staves,

as the rubbing of the one upon the other in the processA of hardening would tend to injure both.

In hardening hat bodies with this machineV the hat body j, while upon the forming cone k is covered with an exterior cone or cover Z, and the three are laid in the inclined cradle so that the cover of the hat body rests in an inclined position upon the lowermost staves of thecradle. The crank shaft F Vis then vcaused to revolve rapidly, and the crank pin revolving with it imparts a rapid vibrating movement to the cradle. As the cradle is held at two points, the pivot at the bottom. and the bolt that connects its rim with the shackle bar m, it vibrates upon these two points as centers, and the peculiar movement thus obtained imparts a tremulous circular movement to the cover Z, to the hat body j and to the forming cone /c within the hat body. The nature of this circular movement is such that the cover in turning in its inclined position brings in succession each part of the hat body past the side of the cradle on which the cover rests, while the interior cone revolves more rapidly than the cover so that the hat body is rubbed between two surfaces with a pressure depend ing upon the inclination of the cradle in which it rests. As the hat body rests on its side and is supported only by the lowermost bars or staves of the cradle, the uppermost bars thereof are inoperative in hardening the'hat body and do not touch the cover, hence hat bodies of any size that the cradle will receive may be laid in it and hardened without any change in the padding to adjust the dimensions of the cradle to those of the hat body. From ,the inclination of the cradle the weight of the inner cone instead of bearing directly downward against the tip of the hat body bears partly upon the side thereof, and by adjusting this inclination the proportionate parts of the weight bearing downward and sidewise may be varied to suit the peculiarities in the proportionate diameter and length of different hat bodies. Thus the broader brimmed the hat body is in proportion to its height the less should be the deviation of the line of inclination from a vertical line, and the narrower brimmed the hat body the more inclined should be the cradle.

' VI have found the machine to work well upon medium sized hat bodies with a speed of about 800 revolutions a minute and a vibration of 1/8 of an inch. The vibration may however be varied as found best by practice from l/16 to' 1/2 of an inch. speed may also be varied. In practice I have also found it convenient to arrange two cradles side by side so that both are vibrated by the same crank pin, as such an arrangement is cheaper in construction and occupies less space than when two cradles are employed separately, and is equally eflicient in practice; and I have been able to harden hat bodies varying from l5 inches by 20 inches to 28 inches by 30 inches without any alteration of the interior dimensions of the cradle.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and a machine embodying it, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The method of hardening hat bodies by means of a cradle sustained in an inclined position and having a tremulous movement substantially as herein set forth.

2. I also claim the method of subjecting hat bodies to greater or less pressure during hardening by inclining the cradle of the hardening machine to a greater or less extent, substantially as herein set forth.

Gr. E. COVVPERTHIVAIT.

Vitnesses:

MELVILLE V. BIGGs, R101-IARD J. CUNNINGHAM.

The 

